SPSB vs VCLT: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
SPSB and VCLT are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. SPSB is State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF, while VCLT is Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF. VCLT is broader by holdings count, with 2,745 positions versus 1,649 for SPSB. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has VCLT ahead on AIQ Score, 56 versus 53.
What is the main difference between SPSB and VCLT?
SPSB and VCLT have little in common: 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | SPSB | VCLT |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.04% | 0.03% |
| Holdings | 1,649 | 2,745 |
| Top-10 concentration | 4.2% | 2.6% |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 4.38% | 5.92% |
| Average volume | 5,032,586 | 5,024,127 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | -2.3% | -11.2% |
| YTD return | -2% | -8% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +2.8% | -3.3% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 1.9% | 8.4% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -2.6% | -14% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -5.7% | -34.2% |
| Beta | 0.04 | 0.30 |
| Sharpe ratio | -3.34 | -1.82 |
| Sortino ratio | -3.57 | -2.55 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 53/100 | 56/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Momentum | 45/100 | 57/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 73/100 | 55/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF vs Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF
VCLT leads
VCLT leads by 3 AIQ points, primarily on Momentum and Value, having only recently taken the lead back from SPSB.
Fragile: 1 of 4 evidence groups support VCLT, the lead recently changed hands, and its current signal state is conflicted.
State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF
Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors VCLT over SPSB, 56 versus 53 as of Oct 21, 2026. VCLT's advantage is driven primarily by stronger momentum and value, while SPSB holds the stronger risk resilience profile. VCLT also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 1 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VCLT today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the AIQ gap is narrow at 3 points. VCLT lead: Reversed — SPSB led by 1 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; VCLT now leads by 3.
Compare State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF and Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
SPSB vs VCLT: which fits what
Each row is settled by a single measure. Where the gap is too small to matter it reads Similar, and no row decides the comparison as a whole.
| If you want | SPSB | VCLT | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.04% | 0.03% | Similar |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 1,649 | 2,745 | VCLT |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 4.2% | 2.6% | Similar |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 4.38% | 5.92% | VCLT |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -5.7% | -34.2% | SPSB |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 1.9% | 8.4% | SPSB |
Similar means the gap is within 0.01 percentage points of expense ratio, 25% more holdings, 3 points of top-10 weight, 0.2 points of yield, 2 points of drawdown or 1 point of volatility. Past drawdowns and volatility describe the funds’ history, not their future.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare SPSB and VCLT against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Risk Resilience73 vs 55SPSB +18
- Momentum45 vs 57VCLT +12
- Value36 vs 45VCLT +9
- Quality66 vs 65Even
1 of 4 evidence groups favor VCLT. VCLT’s edge is concentrated in momentum and value; SPSB keeps a meaningful risk resilience edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
Largest factor move: Momentum -1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 6 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum +8
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 6 active signals are unchanged.
VCLT's lead widened by 2 AIQ points in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — SPSB and VCLT both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
VCLT (Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by momentum and value.
SPSB (State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF): the counter-case, on risk resilience, technicals.
Fund facts, side by side
Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.
| Measure | SPSB | VCLT | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.04% | 0.03% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 1,649 | 2,745 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 5,032,586 | 5,024,127 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 1.9% | 8.4% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -2.6% | -14% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | -3.34 | -1.82 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 0.04 | 0.30 | Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio. |
Where the exposure actually sits
Sector exposure for each fund, ordered by the size of the difference.
How much of the same holdings they own
SPSB and VCLT share 0% of their weighted exposure across 1 common holdings.
1,646 holdings are unique to SPSB, and 2,739 holdings are unique to VCLT. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
SPSB is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 4.22% of the fund, against 2.61% for VCLT (1,649 holdings vs 2,745). Concentration cuts both ways — it is what drives outperformance when the top names work, and what makes the drawdown deeper when they do not.
Largest shared positions
| Holding | SPSB | VCLT | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| PROGRESSIVE CORP SR UNSECURED 03/29 6.625 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Shared weight is the lower of the two positions — the portion of capital both funds genuinely have in the same security.
What SPSB adds that VCLT doesn’t
| Holding | SPSB | VCLT |
|---|---|---|
| SALESFORCE INC SR UNSECURED 03/29 4.65 | 0.64% | Not held |
| AERCAP IRELAND CAP/GLOBA COMPANY GUAR 10/28 3 | 0.49% | Not held |
| BANK OF AMERICA CORP SR UNSECURED 12/28 VAR | 0.47% | Not held |
| NVIDIA CORP SR UNSECURED 06/29 4.35 | 0.44% | Not held |
| PFIZER INVESTMENT ENTER COMPANY GUAR 05/28 4.45 | 0.41% | Not held |
| AMAZON.COM INC SR UNSECURED 03/29 4 | 0.39% | Not held |
What VCLT adds that SPSB doesn’t
| Holding | VCLT | SPSB |
|---|---|---|
| Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch InBev Worldwide Inc 4.90 | 0.37% | Not held |
| CVS Health Corp 5.05% 03/25/2048 | 0.33% | Not held |
| Meta Platforms Inc 5.63% 11/15/2055 | 0.28% | Not held |
| Boeing Co/The 5.80% 05/01/2050 | 0.26% | Not held |
| CVS Health Corp 4.78% 03/25/2038 | 0.24% | Not held |
| AT&T Inc 3.55% 09/15/2055 | 0.24% | Not held |
Each list is a fund’s largest positions by weight that the other fund does not hold, or holds at less than half the weight.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
1 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VCLT. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | Even | 53 vs 56 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | VCLT | Value 36 vs 45 |
| Technicals | SPSB | Price vs 50-day -0.4% vs -1.1%; vs 200-day -1.2% vs -5.6% |
| Risk Resilience | SPSB | Risk Resilience 73 vs 55 |
| Analyst expectations | Not covered | Not covered |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of SPSB and VCLT and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.
- The AIQ gap is narrow at 3 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- Only 1 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The lead has already changed hands inside the comparison window. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on VCLT.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20VCLT lead: Reversed — SPSB led by 1 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; VCLT now leads by 3.
- Today
- VCLT +3
- 53 vs 56
- 7 sessions ago
- VCLT +1
- 52 vs 53
- 30 sessions ago
- SPSB +1
- 48 vs 47
- 90 sessions ago
- SPSB +7
- 55 vs 48
The lead changed hands once in this window, most recently on Oct 15 when VCLT moved ahead of SPSB.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
2 bullish / 3 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only SPSB
- 52-Week High Proximity — bullish, risk, long horizon (2.3%)
1 bullish / 3 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted
Only VCLT
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
Both carry 5 more signals that do not separate them: Death Cross Active, ATR Contraction - Coiling, 52-Week Low Proximity, Downtrend Structure Active, MACD Bullish Crossover.
VCLT leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +0.03%, AIQ 0 points).
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +0.07%, AIQ +2 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1SPSB closes the Momentum gap — currently 12 points behind, the largest single contributor to VCLT's edge.
- 2SPSB's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
- 3VCLT's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 3 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Performance
SPSB leads 5 of 6 windows| Metric | SPSB | VCLT |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | 0% | 1.3% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -0.3% | -2.7% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -0.9% | -4% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | -1.6% | -7.4% |
| Year to date | -2% | -8% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | -2.3% | -11.2% |
Technicals
SPSB has the stronger structure| Metric | SPSB | VCLT |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 53.6 | 67.8 |
| ADX (14) | 28.2 | 27.7 |
| Price vs 50-day | -0.4% | -1.1% |
| Price vs 200-day | -1.2% | -5.6% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 1.8% | 10.5% |
Risk
SPSB is the more resilient| Metric | SPSB | VCLT |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 0.04 | 0.3 |
| Sharpe ratio | -3.34 | -1.82 |
| Sortino ratio | -3.57 | -2.55 |
| Max drawdown | -2.6% | -14% |
| Current drawdown | -2.3% | -11.9% |
| Annualized volatility | 1.9% | 8.4% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -0.3% | -0.9% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between SPSB and VCLT?
SPSB and VCLT have little in common: 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do SPSB and VCLT overlap?
SPSB and VCLT share 0% of their weighted exposure across 1 common holdings. 1,646 holdings are unique to SPSB, and 2,739 holdings are unique to VCLT. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, SPSB or VCLT?
VCLT holds more positions: 2,745 versus 1,649 for SPSB.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
The two are within a basis point: 0.04% for SPSB and 0.03% for VCLT.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
VCLT, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 5.92% against 4.38% for SPSB.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
VCLT has been more volatile over the past year, at 8.4% annualized against 1.9% for SPSB.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
SPSB fell less from peak to trough over the past five years: -5.7% against -34.2% for VCLT.
Compare SPSB and VCLT with others
Continue your research
This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.
How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.